Say What?- One Shot
by ShandyCandy278
Summary: Today was strange, even according to his standards. Hilarious Adrien Obliviousness, Read at your own risk. :3 (Might become a two-shot eventually)


Today was supposed to be a normal day.

 _Wait… Normal?_

As he dodged the Akuma's attacks and waited for Ladybug to put her plan into action, he laughed at himself. Of course his day wasn't normal, he was an abnormal person!

So, perhaps, the right wording would be something like this:

Today was strange, even according to his standards.

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"Ugh, I don't know what to do, Nino!" Adrien stopped in the hallway and listened. That sounded like Alya. "He doesn't even know! You'd think that he'd at least notice how she acts around him and label it as a crush, but nooo~ Marinette's 'just a friend'!"

Wait…

Marinette had a crush?!

And he didn't know that she liked him?

"Babe, I don't think he even knows that Marinette likes someone, let alone him. You know how he is, how he grew up." Nino soothed, but Alya's next comment told Adrien that he had failed.

"That's no excuse! Marinette is acting so obvious about it that everyone in school but him knows about it! If I didn't promise Marinette that I wouldn't tell him, I would have already slapped him in the face to give him a wake-up call!"

Adrien's eyes narrowed. It also sounded like he didn't appreciate her, or her feelings.

"I don't think-"

"Who doesn't appreciate Marinette?" He asked as he turned the corner. Both Alya, Nino, and Kagami (he hadn't heard anything from her, so seeing her surprised him a bit) jumped when they turned to look at him.

"Oh, hello Adrien." Alya greeted, relaxing.

"Who's friend zoned Marinette?" Adrien asked again. Kagami seemed entirely amused at the situation, while both Alya and Nino sweat-dropped.

"You don't need to worry about that, dude." Nino laughed off awkwardly. "Alya's just frustrated that her plans to get Marinette together with her crush failed again."

Okay, first he realized that Marinette's feelings are being taken advantage of, and now his friends are acting weird about it. Something was up. Why weren't they telling him who it was?

His cat-like curiosity built in his throat- but before he could probe them, he spotted Marinette walking in.

Well, if they wouldn't tell him who, it was best to ask the source, right?

"Hey, Marinette!" He called, jogging over to her. Marinette was frowning at her phone and sketchpad while she slowly walked forward. He was by her side in no time, but she didn't even look up to greet him. "Marinette, I need to ask you a question."

"Hello, Adrien." She said, sounding half asleep and distracted. Normally Adrien would be worried about her, but this time it worked in his favor. Maybe she wouldn't think hard about his question and just answer. He crossed his fingers and prayed for some of Ladybug's luck. "What is it?"

"Do you like anyone?"

"Yeah, you."

…

…

…

 _What._

Marinette finally seemed to wake up from her focused daze, and she froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I-I mean, y-yeah, you? Uh, stupid auto-correct." She laughed awkwardly, still looking down at her phone. Adrien gave her an incredulous look, leaning down more towards her level.

"Uh, Marinette?" She made a sound of acknowledgment, and Adrien continued slowly. "This is a real-life conversation."

Her cheeks lit up in an adorable shade of red, and she hugged her open sketchbook close to her chest. Adrien watched with intense curiosity and a sense of 'is this a dream' surrounding his thoughts.

"N-No it's not!" Marinette protested, even as her phone decided to turn off on her. Adrien lifted up a hand to rest on her shoulder, but that was when she chose to jump. "A-Ah, oh, look at the time! W-We should to head class! I-I mean, class to head- I MEAN, head to class!" Marinette then proceeded to speed-walk away from him, leaving Adrien standing there dumbly. He was too busy with his never-ending thoughts to pay close attention to his surroundings.

These included the following:

' _What just happened?'_

' _What…'_

' _Does she like me?'_

' _WhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhat-'_

' _Is she okay?'_

' _WHATWHATWHATWHATWHATWHATWHATWHATWHAT-'_

"Hey, Adrien, bud." Nino's voice reached him in his stupor, but Adrien didn't react. Nino's hand rested upon his shoulder, gently guiding him away. "Let's get you to class, okay?" Adrien felt himself nod.

Yeah, go to class. That was a good idea. Class was where he was supposed to be. Class was good.

 _Class was where Marinette currently was._

Dang-it, he wasn't going to be able to focus today, was he?! This might even be worse than the day after he found out that Ladybug had indeed kissed him!

…

Okay, maybe not as bad, but it'll be pretty darn close! He was sure of it!

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Correction- it was just as bad.

He was struggling to process everything that had happened. He was lucky that the teachers didn't notice and call on him.

Adrien supposed that the best way to process this would be to talk to Marinette about it. He didn't want to do it with any witnesses either, so he'd have to get her by herself. But no matter how hard he tried to get Marinette alone, she always managed to slip past his fingers!

Right now it was around the end of lunch. He and Nino were eating on one side of the table, while Marinette and Alya sat on the other side. So it was just the four of them, sitting there in the oddly tense atmosphere.

Alya and Nino seemed to be the only ones really capable of thinking coherently because they were able to keep up the conversation the entire time. He was focused on other things. What to say to Marinette so that he could talk to her alone?

Maybe invite her to stay after school with him?

He opened his mouth to speak, but that was when the bell rang.

 _Dang it, Plagg!_

He scowled and packed up his stuff to go to class, cursing his own bad luck.

And then Kagami had chosen to walk up to him.

"Hey, Adrien." She greeted. "You promised me a rematch, right?"

"Yeah…" Adrien studied her for a moment, not quite liking the look in her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'd like to take up that rematch after school." The smirk on her face seemed to grow. "But this time, the winner gets to spend a whole day with Marinette."

He dropped his school bag, ignoring the small sound of Plagg's protest.

 _What._

"What?!" Marinette echoed his thoughts.

"So?" Kagami asked. "What do you say?"

Well, he was going to say no. From the sound of it, Marinette had no idea that Kagami was planning this. He wasn't going to force her into anything.

But… wasn't he just thinking of ways of getting her alone so that they could talk? He was free this afternoon and Saturday. That gave him plenty of time to broach the subject and get to know Marinette better. Not to mention that Chloe wouldn't try anything.

He nodded to himself and looked Kagami in the eye.

"I accept your challenge, Kagami." Her smirk grew while Marinette freaked out to Alya in the background.

"Good."

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This was a good idea.

It really was.

If only he could believe it.

He breathed out deeply, pressing the ends of his saber together. Like their last duel, they weren't hooked up to the system. Nino had agreed to judge, leaving Marinette and Alya on the sidelines.

The romantic part of his brain wondered if Marinette knew one of the traditions of fencing. The Princess (which she definitely was) would place their colors on the knight who they wished to win.

He ignored the disappointment when he realized that either she didn't, or she was indecisive about who she wanted to win.

' _Here goes something.'_ He thought, lowering his mask and turning to face his opponent. Kagami stood tall in her red fencing outfit- the outfit that had once made him think that she was his lady.

Well, now he knew better. He wouldn't be distracted by such thoughts this time.

"Alright, so I don't really know how to do this sort of thing…" Nino admitted. "So when I say go, you go, ok?"

Adrien and Kagami nodded.

"Alright… GO!"

Instantly the match took place- sabers clashing together in the mostly empty courtyard. Adrien fought harder than he had last time, mainly because he was no longer distracted by the possibilities.

Besides, he also had to fight for a day with his Princess. That was the easiest way to spend time with her, right?

But just as he was about to get the upper hand on Kagami, a furious screech echoed through the halls. A figure in vibrant colors landed between the two of them, ghostly-white eyes glaring at them.

"I am Peacemaker, and I'm tired of people fighting all the time!" She exclaimed.

The only thing that Adrien was thinking about, was the same thing that had been on his mind all day.

 _Marinette._

Kagami seemed to be distracting the akumatized villain well enough, so now was the only chance that he had. He rushed over to Marinette (who was trying to sneak off since Alya had abandoned her), picked her up bridal style, dropped his sword, and ran like his life depended on it.

"A-A-Adrien!" Marinette shrieked in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck and face red. "Wh-What-What are you-"

"We needed to get out of there!" Was his answer as he skidded around the corner. Marinette's face turned a deeper shade of red, and an angry look formed on her adorable face.

"B-B-But what about Nino and Alya?!" She exclaimed.

"I, uh, didn't think about it?" He offered sheepishly, his breath labored.

"Y-You didn't think about your best friend?!"

"Well, he's not the one that's been stuck on my mind today!" Adrien protested as he turned around another corner, and into an alley. "Is it too much to want to talk to you one on one?!"

"I-I, uh-"

"This is a safe place." Adrien interrupted, placing Marinette on the ground in her little alcove. "You'll be completely safe here- I'll be back."

"Wha- but- ADRIEN GET BACK HERE!" Adrien ignored her and rushed out of the alley. He continued to run until he found a place to transform. Plagg, much to Adrien's irritation, was laughing his tail off.

"Kid, do you know what you just did?!" He asked through his laughter.

"Yeah, I kept Marinette safe from the Akuma." Adrien replied.

"Oh, Adrien… my poor oblivious chosen." Plagg cackled. "Don't you realize what this whole day means?"

"..." Adrien furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "...That Marinette's… a good friend…?"

"For the love of Camembert- you have a crush on her, Agreste!"

"Wh-What?!" He stuttered, face growing terribly red. "N-No I… don't…"

Images of days past, but mostly today, flashed through his mind. Adrien let out an unmanly squeal.

"Oh… my… gosh." He ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide. "Oh My Gosh I-I have a crush on Marinette- HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! I-"

"Oh, look, there's Ladybug!" Plagg said optimistically, not helping Adrien's inner turmoil. "You should transform."

"Right. Transform. I need to do that." Adrien still didn't move, and a hand raised itself to his mouth in shock. "Plagg, can you believe that I-"

"Claws out!" Plagg exclaimed, and it snapped Adrien away from his consuming thoughts.

"Claws out!" He echoed, activating his transformation sequence. He quickly launched himself into the air, joining Ladybug swiftly. She glanced at him, a bit worried when he stumbled in his landing.

' _Great.'_

"Are you okay?" She asked. Chat Noir felt his face involuntarily heat up.

"Fine!" He squeaked out. "J-Just peachy!" It was obvious that Ladybug didn't believe him, but she didn't press him for details either.

"Alright. Come on- Peacemaker's over here." She explained, pointing towards the school.

He followed her, only one thing on his mind.

 _How did he manage to dig himself into this sort of thing?_


End file.
